The legislative action was intended to reduce secrecy, while allowing historians to fulfill their responsibilities.

Under the statute, materials related to the Abuse of Governmental Power and the constitutional and statutory duties of the President and his White House staff are retained by the National Archives.

The Act mandates that the National Archives preserve and process these materials, and prepare them for public access.

The National Archives was required to segregate and return to Nixon's estate those materials identified as purely "personal-private" or "personal-political" and unrelated to the President's constitutional and statutory duties.

[3] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Archives and Records Administration.